Half Sick of Shadows
by Lalenapeike
Summary: Being stuck in limbo can be draining. Laurence Dominic's been let out of the Attic, the world's in ruins and he is bored out of his mind. DeWitt/Dominic


The days have started to blend together since he came out of the Attic. With nothing to do all day but maintain some semblance of order within the compound that the Dollhouse has become, there is little need for calendars. Laurence Dominic is shocked to realize it has been nearly four months since DeWitt freed him from the hell within his own mind. He still has no idea why she let him out. Dominic hates to admit it, when the world has gone to hell, but he is actually bored. After going from the Attic, where he was fighting for survival, the real world seems absurdly slow.

Upon reflection, his boredom is less unexpected when you consider his possible conversation partners. There's Claire, growing quieter and stranger by the day, Topher, growing less annoying and more disturbing by the day, Priya and Anthony, who typically keep to themselves despite arguing constantly, and Adelle, whom he avoids like the plague. Paul Ballard wasn't half bad, even if Dominic occasionally wondered how someone so dull-witted got accepted into the FBI. But Ballard had taken off with Caroline several weeks ago in search of some mythical "Safe Place". Personally, he doesn't think any such place exists.

If he's honest with himself, he's not sure he believes that they, the Creators of this Apocalypse, deserve such a place. However, Safe Haven, as it has become termed by the more faithful of the Dollhouse residents, is just the sort of place that Caroline would believe in. Dominic isn't sorry to see her gone. Although he'd forged a sort of peace and a working relationship with Echo, Caroline herself is far too altruistic for her own or anyone else's good. Mindless righteousness was never a quality Dominic admired in anyone. So for now, there is little else to do but wait; wait for salvation, wait to be printed, wait to die at the hand of the butchers that roam the ruined streets.

It's midway through his second circling of the lower floor that he spots Adelle. She's sitting outside one of the makeshift bedrooms, back straight against the wall and staring off into space. Her green eyes are slightly unfocused and her hair is slowly working its way out of the loose ponytail she has it in. Dominic hasn't had to work as hard as he'd originally thought to avoid her. Lately Topher has been growing steadily worse. Adelle spends more and more time each day at calming him down. He's never really understood that particular relationship and _certainly_ isn't going to ask. He'd stumbled upon them in Topher's office after the incident when they were all drugged. Adelle sleeping on the floor, shirt askew, and Topher in his underwear had been a sight he'd wanted to forcibly scrub from his brain. He still isn't sure what, if anything, happened. However, Dominic is certain that nothing would have happened if Adelle had been in her right mind. The idea is just too nauseating.

He still isn't sure when he started calling her Adelle, but the name has never made it beyond the tip of his tongue. After their tense words in her office, he's said maybe a handful of words to her. But he's restless and edgy and certainly _not _worried about her, and so he goes to sit beside her. It takes her several minutes to notice he's there, which is troubling.

"Ma'am."

"Ms. DeWitt." She doesn't react.

"Adelle!" he barks at last.

"The medication's stopped working," she murmurs at last, turning toward him slightly.

"Does Dr. Saunders have something else he can take?"

"Perhaps. If Dr. Saunders can remember herself long enough to give him the correct dosage without scrambling his brain further. Do you think that worth the risk then Mr. Dominic?" Her tongue turns sharp with the last part.

Dominic grimaces at that. Claire's decline is as disturbing as Topher's madness has been. She'd been finding it harder to remember more of her complex medical knowledge over the past few months, but lately larger pieces of herself have been failing. They'd all thought her increased silence was the result of dealing with Boyd's betrayals, but the complete blankness that comes across Claire's face mid-conversation has been increasingly common. She's loosing pieces of herself, large chunks of personality and memory are falling away. At some point she may become more Doll than person. This has been yet another thing to drive Topher further into himself, always having blamed himself for Whiskey. Topher's too far gone to fix Claire's imprint, who is herself less able to deal with Topher's frequent breaks in sanity. That cycle keeps repeating itself between the Doctor and her maker. One of them will be lost and lately it's been hard to tell which one. If it weren't all so creepy, Dominic might find it funny.

"I don't know what to do. For either of them."

It's something he never thought he could hear from Adelle DeWitt. He looks at her more closely then. She's shaking, her arms gripped so tightly around herself that her fingers are turning white. She looks lost, and more frightened then he thought the woman who coolly sent him to hell _twice_ could possibly look. And it scares the hell out him.

She's not the same person she once was and he knows that. It might be the reason he's avoided her so carefully, but that's hard to admit even to himself. There had always been an ease between them, from the beginning. They were in sync far more often than Dominic would've liked to be with a beautiful woman who willingly worked for an evil corporation. These days he wasn't sure if he wanted that ease back or wanted to shoot her in the head, but it certainly couldn't be both.

They sit in silence until Dominic reaches a hand up to touch her shoulder. She flinches.

"I just..." he offers.

"No it's al..." She trails off and looks to the side.

"I'm sorry." They speak at once, the words awkwardly overlapping one another.

After sitting there for several uncomfortable minutes, Adelle leans closer to him, her body just slightly making contact with his. Dominic puts an arm around her and she leans in closer, resting her head against his chest. They've never needed many words, but this feels more real than anything he has known in awhile. He hears a soft sound and looks down at her face. Adelle is crying quietly, trying to keep silent and failing. He has hated her for so long, but the sight of her tears is sharp and hot in his chest.

He puts both arms around her then, rocking her and speaking quietly to her. He isn't sure what he's saying; silly comforting things and platitudes that he's heard other people use, but that feel right in this moment. Her tears slow and she relaxes into him. Her eyes have been closed and her breathing easy and slow for many minutes when he dares to touch her hair. It's always fascinated him and he curls a piece around one finger. Moving his hand to her face, Dominic strokes her cheek and then presses his lips to her forehead. Adelle stirs then, looking up at him. He freezes, eyes wide. Adelle tilts her face and kisses him sleepily and softly, then closes her eyes and snuggles back into his shirt. Laurence Dominic lets out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding and rests his head against the wall. "It's enough", he thinks. He falls asleep holding her, their bodies curled together in the hallway.


End file.
